The Art of Sculpting
Almost every aspect of the stone sculpting process in Zimbabwe is manual. Hammers, chisels , rasps and emery paper are all that most artists use to create their sculptures.
Artists tend to have learnt their trade by either being taught by a family sculptor (father, uncle or older brother) or by serving an apprenticeship. Most sculptors have several assistants who learn their trade as apprentices - the artist will shape the stone while the assistants tend to do the time consuming rasping and polishing before moving onto their own smaller sculptures.
There are also several co-operatives where experienced artists teach large groups of younger apprentices. These have tended to be established by overseas organisations (religious or charitable groups) who will often buy the land and build facilities. This has dried up in recent yeras due to the ecominc problems in the country. These types of places are often in tourist areas as they make smaller, cheaper pieces specifically for visitors. Tourism is almost non existent now in Zimbabwe and this has affected their business enormously.